Students’ Perception of the Use of Learning Management System to Facilitate Flipped Learning Experience for English Language Teaching in Private Higher Education Institution in Oman: A Developmental Evaluation

Abstract

Learning Management System (LMS) has become an integral part of education technology in every institution. Almost all the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are using LMS to facilitate their teaching and learning processes. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of LMS and the basic perception of students on the usage of LMS and various plugins to support their learning process not only to ensure its quality but also to evaluate different strategies for its future enhancement. Hence, this study adopts a developmental evaluation framework to assess students’ satisfaction and perception of using the (LMS) in their experiential Flipped Learning (FL) of English language modules. The methodology follows the pragmatic paradigm based on Dewey’s theory to allow for mixed-method instruments to be employed for a better understanding of the LMS, exploring its challenges and opportunities. This small-scale evaluative study involved a survey of 70 respondents and a focus group of ten students in a private HEI in Oman to explore their FL experience in English modules. The depiction of this experience represented positive responses emphasizing how FL technology-enhanced individualized/experiential learning reinforced in life-long learning skills suitable for career practice. Recommendations are offered for LMS to facilitate enhanced flipped teaching implementation, promoting a student-centered environment ideal for a broader approach of active learning in HEI contexts.